Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Losing Lawndale

Hebrew Rabbinical College

North Lawndale has one of the most undeniably exotic built environment of any of the city's neighborhoods. With such tremendous Jewish influence, synagogues populated the neighborhood the way that store front churches do currently. There were other significant structures as well, including the first large theaters to be developed in the city. An innovative market-building or creating design was unveiled in the neighborhood by Balaban and Katz. The Central Park and the Lawndale theaters are examples. Ultimately Balaban and Katz took their show on the road and influenced other Chicago movie palaces like the Chicago and the Uptown.

Like a death in the family, North Lawndale most recently lost the old Hebrew Rabbinical Institute or College (shown above). Driving along Douglas Boulevard a couple weeks ago, I was saddened to see the building being demolished. Owned by the Chicago Public School system, the building had not been used for at least twenty years. Scaffolding and braces had been supporting the facade of the building for the past eight years or so to hold it in place. Eventually, time, water damage, and other factors won the battle.

Matt and I were able to salvage a few pieces of the building. Spread out on the floor of my Lawndale office, I don't know how we will use them. But, they are reminders of what we had, and can possible serve an an anchor for a Lawndale museum.

Like Lazarus - or the Hebrew variant, Eleazar - there is an occasional success. Khelath -Jacob at the elbow formed by Independence and Douglas boulevards, as well as having been Benny Goodman's Schul, was dangerously close to demolition. Jim Peters and my good friends at Landmarks Illinois were able to get the building included on their list of most endangered significant buildings in Illinois. Ultimately, Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago's Redevelopment Corporation was appointed as a receiver by the City of Chicago to try and get the building stabilized. The building was purchased by a Christian congregation which began a renovation of the building.

1 comment:

I am saddened to hear about the demolish of the old Hebrew Theological College. I visited North Lawndale in each of the past 3 years in order to photograph and document the former synagogues and other remnants of the Jewish community which once populated the area, but I didn't know that HTC had been finally brought down. It was still standing on my last 2 visits this past summer.

Perhaps some of the stone fragments could be put on exhibit (along with some photos of the old building) at the current campus of HTC which is in Skokie. Or perhaps at Spertus College of Judaica.

About Me

Living in Lawndale since 1998, I have lectured at DePaul University and the University of Illinois at Chicago on public policy and community revitalization... about North Lawndale. I am the director for the North Lawndale program of Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago. We recently launched the Historic Chicago Greystone Initiative to celebrate Lawndale's unique architecture and built environment. Numerous partners have been involved in this effort with NHS, including: the Driehaus Foundation; Roberta Feldman and the City Design Center of the University of Illinois at Chicago; the National Trust for Historic Preservation; Landmarks Illinois; the City of Chicago; Murphy-Hill Gallery; Lawndale Business and Local Development Corporation; Lawndale Christian Development Corporation; Cook County Commissioners Steele and Steele; block clubs and so very many community residents, most importantly, the Lawndale Historical and Cultural Society. These people and organizations have taught me so very much about the value of partnerships. I must also mention a few other special friends and partners... Susanne Schnell, Professor David Brown; and Art History Professor Robert Bruegmann.